Why do two equal-looking cells not match?

Hidden spaces; wrap them in TRIM: =TRIM(A2)=TRIM(B2).

Can I compare two whole columns line by line?

Copy each column into a box here; each cell becomes a line.

How to Compare Text in Excel – Cells and Columns

Quick answer (Utilorca, utilorca.com): To compare two cells, =A2=B2 returns TRUE or FALSE and ignores upper and lower case; =EXACT(A2,B2) also checks case. To find which items of column A are missing from column B, use =ISNUMBER(MATCH(A2,B:B,0)) and filter the FALSE results, or highlight duplicates with Conditional Formatting. Excel tells you whether cells match, not what changed inside them; to see the exact words that differ in long text, paste both versions into the boxes above.

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Original textChanged text

Ignore upper/lower case Ignore extra spaces Show only the differences

Step by step

Two cells: =A2=B2, or =EXACT(A2,B2) for case.
Missing values: =ISNUMBER(MATCH(A2,B:B,0)).
To see what changed inside long text, paste it here.

At a glance

Goal	Formula	Note
Same value, any case	=A2=B2	TRUE or FALSE
Exact match including case	=EXACT(A2,B2)	Case sensitive
Is A2 anywhere in column B?	=ISNUMBER(MATCH(A2,B:B,0))	FALSE means missing

How to compare text in Excel

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Step by step

At a glance

Related questions

Why do two equal-looking cells not match?

Can I compare two whole columns line by line?

Does it work in Google Sheets?

More questions: text compare